Children are cared for and provided medical treatment, including surgery, in medical care facilities such as hospitals and surgery centers. Stays in such facilities can be intimidating and cause much apprehension in young patients, despite the best efforts of a caring staff. Such apprehension can be the result of unfamiliar surroundings and equipment as well as unfamiliar ways of doing things and sometimes painful medical treatments. Further, unhappiness can result simply from being not being able to move freely about the facility.
During stays in treatment facilities, children are oftentimes immobile either because they are attached to medical devices like intravenous injection devices (I.V.""s), or their illness. The assisted movement of the child about the facility can help eliminate the feeling of immobility to make the child happier. However, the staff is generally not available for taking children for trips simply for fun. When a parent is visiting, they could move the child around to provide fun and mobility. To date though, the transport devices have presented obstacles for parents, generally the same obstacles the staff encounters when they transport the child for treatment. As discussed more in detail below, there are typically two transport devices used in care facilities, wheelchairs and wagons. Many children cannot be transported in wheelchairs because they cannot sit upright either because of age or illness. Further, the transport of an infusion pump, the preferred I.V. for children, on a wheel chair is difficult and poses safety concerns when attached to a pole attached to the wheelchair. If the I.V. is not attached to the wheelchair, two or more people would be required to move the child, wheelchair and I.V. around and two people may not be available when needed. In addition, a ride in a wheelchair is not generally viewed by a child as much fun. Wagons have been used instead of wheelchairs to provide an environment of fun for the child. Even though wagons can be effectively used to transport children who cannot sit upright and provide added fun by alleviating the feeling of immobility, they too have posed problems, such as safety and user convenience, as discussed below.
Children will also require movement about the facility by the staff to provide medical treatment. The children will realize or soon learn that a trip with staff within the facility usually results in a treatment which many times is unpleasant. Oftentimes, the contemplation of a treatment is worse than the treatment itself. Many of these children have little understanding of the treatments they will receive or the purpose of the treatment, except in the most general terms, adding to the anxiety and apprehension of being in an unfamiliar environment. The facility""s staff works to reduce the apprehension and anxiety through the use of many mechanisms Such mechanisms include providing an atmosphere of fun to distract a child from thinking about what may occur particularly at the end of a trip in the facility. A ride in a wagon can provide such an atmosphere of fun.
During movement about, children will oftentimes be required to travel while connected to an I.V. or other medical device. Being connected to such a medical device also makes a child immobile unless they are being helped. Drip type I.V. bags have not been preferred for use with children since the flow rate can be easily changed by the child and they are not very accurate in flow rate at the lower flow rates of medicine used for children both of which create safety concerns. Typically, children are connected to an infusion pump for intravenous injection to more accurately regulate the injection of medicines or the like than can be accomplished with the drip type I.V. bags and because infusion pumps are relatively tamper resistant. Even though infusion pumps are preferred, they are typically large and heavy, presenting safety concerns should one fall on a child if not properly secured.
As discussed above, movement of a child about a care facility is typically accomplished using a wheelchair or a wagon. The use of a wheelchair presents problems. Wheelchairs may require two staff members, one to push while another staff member walks along with the I.V. on a wheeled pole. The use of wheelchairs and attendance by two staff members can be intimidating and cause additional apprehension in children. Devices have been provided to attach the I.V. device to the wheelchair to allow operation of the wheelchair by only one staff member. Although providing an improvement in efficiency such an arrangement can still cause apprehension and present safety and convenience issues. Because of the size and weight of an infusion pump, they are difficult to mount to a wheelchair. They either project over the seat area and patient or outwardly past the wheels. Projecting over the seat area makes entry, exit and sitting difficult. This position of the infusion pump also provides a safety concern since the device is positioned over the upper body of the child and should the device fall, a major injury could result. When projecting out over the wheels, there is a risk it will hit something or cause an empty chair to tip. Further, many children do not have the capacity to be upright in a wheel chair for various reasons, e.g., they may be too young or may not have sufficient muscle strength to sit upright making the use of a wheel chair not acceptable for such children. If a wheeled dolly is used to help support the pole and prevent wheelchair tipping, it too may hit an object causing damage. The wheels are also noisy and many times do not properly steer both of which can cause apprehension and make operation difficult. More importantly, the dolly wheels may catch causing the I.V. device to fall which in turn may painfully pull out the catheters and cause excessive bleeding.
Recently, wagons have been used for transport to provide a fun environment and allow children who cannot sit upright to be transported, but present their own problems. One such wagon is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,292,094. The wagon has a bracket for attaching an I.V. pole with a wheeled dolly attached to its bottom for rolling on the floor. The pole is attached to the side of the wagon adjacent a rear wheel with a clamp and two bolts. The dolly rests on the floor to provide vertical support for the pole and medical device(s) thereon. The problems with the use of a wheeled dolly are discussed above. For transport, a child is placed in the wagon and their I. V. pole and platform are then secured to the wagon via a clamp and bolt arrangement. Such an attachment is cumbersome and time consuming, potentially adding to the child""s apprehension. At the end of the trip, the pole must also be similarly released from the wagon by loosening the two bolts, all potentially additionally adding to the apprehension of the child. Such a bolt arrangement for attachment creates safety issues since the bolts may become loose during transport. Further, the pole is located on one side of the wagon between the front and rear wheels making that side essentially inaccessible for entry and exit and for tending to the passenger. Further, by being located near the rear of the wagon, the I.V. device is positioned over the upper body of the child when the child is riding face forward. Should the I.V. become loose and fall, a major injury may be incurred by the child. With a bolt on attachment of the I.V. pole, should it become loose and free of attachment to the wagon (or wheel chair) there is a risk that the I.V. catheters will be pulled out of the child causing great pain and excessive bleeding. The wagon of the ""094 patent is a single pivot front axle type wagon. During sharp turns, such wagons can be unstable since the front support points (front wheels) move toward the center of gravity of the wagon narrowing the front wheel support width. When the front wheels are in a sharp turn position, the wagon is also unstable at rest increasing the probability it will tip and thereby create more apprehension in the child being transported.
Another wagon of the above general type has an I.V. pole permanently mounted to the wagon on the rear end and outboard of the perimeter of the wagon bed and wheels. By being rear mounted, the center of gravity of the wagon and attachments is more rearward on the wagon. When a pulling force is applied to the wagon""s handle, the front of the wagon has a tendency to lift more because of additional weight of the pole and whatever device is attached thereto creating apprehension in the passenger as well as raising safety concerns. Also, by being rear mounted, the I.V. device is positioned above the upper body of a forward facing child presenting the safety concerns discussed above.
Although the above discussion was directed to I.V. devices, it is pointed out that other medical devices may also need to be moved with the child compounding the problems discussed in reference to I.V. devices. Such devices include portable gas supplies like oxygen tanks and tube feeders for liquid diet foods.
It is believed important for safety, effective treatment and comfort of a child, that their apprehension be kept as low as possible. The elimination unhappiness and of sources of potential apprehension is thus important. As discussed above, sources of unhappiness and apprehension include immobility, the type of vehicle used for transport, the inability to quickly and easily ready the child and I.V. for transport and departure from the vehicle and the stability of the vehicle. Whether a staff member or a family member is using the wheelchair or wagon for transport, the problems encountered are generally the same.
Among the several objects and features of the present invention may be noted the provision of a transport device that will create an atmosphere of fun when used by a child; the provision of such a device that is easy and quick to attach an I.V. pole to; the provision of such a device that is easy and quick to remove an I.V. pole from; the provision of such a device that provides room on both sides of the device for assisting the entry and exit of a child; the provision of such a device that is stable in operation and at rest; the provision of such a device that is stable during movement and when at rest regardless of the positions of its guiding wheels; the provision of such a device that is safe and convenient for child and medical device transport; and the provision of such a device that is economical to manufacture.
The present invention involves the provision of a wagon for transporting a person in a medical care facility. The wagon includes a wagon body having an upwardly facing support surface and an upstanding guardrail extending around a substantial portion of the support surface. The body has a front end and a rear end and opposite sides forming a wagon body perimeter. A handle is connected to the wagon body at the front end for applying a pulling force to the wagon body. Wheels are rotatably mounted on the body with a pair of the wheels positioned adjacent the front end and a pair of the wheels positioned adjacent the rear end with a substantial portion of the support surface being positioned between outermost portions of the front and rear wheels. The wagon body, guardrail, handle and wheels form a wagon. A pole with a top end and a bottom end is provided.
A pole mount is secured to the wagon and is adapted for mounting the pole on the wagon. The wagon provides substantially the entirety of support for the pole. The pole mount is positioned inboard of said wagon body perimeter and the pole has a substantial portion thereof positioned inboard of the wagon body perimeter.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision of a wagon for use in transporting children in a medical care facility who require equipment or intravenous fluid during transport. The wagon comprises a body sized and shaped for receiving a child, the body having a front end, a rear end, sides and a floor for supporting the child. Wheels are located generally at the front and rear ends of the body and mounted on the body for rolling support of the body on a surface. An elongate handle is connected to the body generally at the front end thereof and extending forwardly for pulling the wagon. A pole is supported by the wagon and has a support portion extending over the wagon floor. The support portion is adapted for mounting medical equipment and/or intravenous fluid containers thereon whereby the equipment and containers are disposed at least partially over the wagon floor to increase stability of the wagon when pulled along the surface by the handle.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.